SN 1572, Tycho's Supernova, Composite
A long Chandra observation of Tycho has revealed a pattern of X-ray "stripes" never seen before in a supernova remnant. Low-energy X-rays (red) in the image show expanding debris from the supernova explosion and high energy X-rays (blue) show the blast wave, a shell of extremely energetic electrons. These stripes may provide the first direct evidence that supernova remnants can accelerate particles to energies a hundred times higher than achieved by the most powerful particle accelerator on Earth, the Large Hadron Collider. The results could explain how some of the extremely energetic particles bombarding the Earth, called cosmic rays, are produced, and they provide support for a theory about how magnetic fields can be dramatically amplified in such blast waves. SN 1572 (Tycho's Supernova, Tycho's Nova), B Cassiopeiae (B Cas), or 3C 10, is a supernova of Type Ia in the constellation Cassiopeia, one of about eight supernovae visible to the naked eye in historical records. It burst forth in early November 1572 and was independently discovered by many individuals. The appearance of the Milky Way supernova of 1572 was perhaps one of the two or three most important events in the history of astronomy. The supernova of 1572 is often called Tycho's supernova, because of the extensive work De nova et nullius aevi memoria prius visa stella (Concerning the Star, new and never before seen in the life or memory of anyone) that contains both Tycho Brahe's own observations and the analysis of many other observers. Release date March 24, 2011.
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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: 10, 1572, 2011, 21st, 3c, astronomical, astronomy, body, burst, cas, cassiopeiae, celestial, century, composite, deep, exploding, explosion, heavenly, ia, image, nova, object, radiation, remnant, science, sky, sn, snr, space, star, stellar, supernova, supernova., tycho, type
